American Literature? The More Broadly, Term Paper

Further, I believe the best American (and other) literature, has always done that, and does that now, within any age.

However, I also do not feel that American literature should do anything different from other national literatures (except to spring, which it would and does naturally) from the distinct environment in which it was or is written). It should definitely not be confined, either, to focusing only on American topics (another category difficult to actually limit or define). If American literature anthologies or collections are any guide to what the term "American literature" may actually mean, John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity," composed as sermon to be read at sea to the author's fundamentalist flock of Puritan Dissenters sailing toward an unknown New World; and the 20th century Russian emigre Vladimir Nabokov's novel Pnin (about a Russian emigre professor and writer in America), qualify equally well (and is included, along with Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity," in various American literature anthologies and collections of "American literature" I have perused at various times. Therefore, American literature should not be (and has not been) written only by American writers (however, emigre writers like Nabokov writing in America do tend to reflect what might be considered "American" attitudes; actions, and approaches to life: e.g., travel over distance; optimism; pursuing one's own happiness).

Further, in trying to best identify what 'American Literature' either is or is not, one must reflect, also, that the United States on its own [as Mexico; Canada; Puerto Rico; and Central and Latin America would each hasten to point out, does not ion fact produce the only 'American Literature'. Each of those other respective regions and nations are part of the North American continent we all co-inhabit, and produce works of literature as well, which can only (and must also) be called American literature.

The term "United States" literature is easier to define and understand, but even that has become steadily and increasingly difficult to categorize. That task would have been far easier back in the days of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, both seen (albeit distinctly) as having been among the first distinctly 'American' (that is, 'United States') poets.Back then 'American Literature' was probably easier to spot for sure since there was still so relatively little of it written.

g. What it would mean to be an American writer before America existed would mean to be someone like Columbus; Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, etc., writing about the New World from foreign-explorers' perspectives [works by these authors and similar ones of their time and European heritage are also included in most American literature anthologies today].

Aspects of American life and character that often, although not always, get left out of literary works often have to do with politics and/or political processes, perhaps because their bad effects, while known, are probably hard to describe in terms of tangible effects on an individual hero or life situation. If there is one weakness in American literature as a national one, I believe it may be this. Otherwise, I do not believe anything is left out, or that anyone or any ethnicity of lifestyle is ignored (this does not mean not denigrated, though) in the wide body of American literature today. I cannot say the same for the American literature of past centuries, though, since earlier in our history, Native Americans; African-Americans; Hispanic-Americans; women, gays, poor people, and immigrants of all nationalities often had to struggle to have any small literary voice or legacy at all (and very often individual would-be American authors within those various categories did not succeed even at that). Fortunately, American literature today has changed a lot in that one very historically-troubling and non-inclusive respect.

References

Literature. (1995). Webster's New American dictionary.

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Tocqueville, a. de. (1998). Democracy in America [online text]. Retrieved March

8,2007, at http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/html.

Whitman, W. (1999). Leaves of grass [online text]. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved March 8, 2007 at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1322.html......